Second arrest made in Bharuch over social media post on cow slaughter

Bharuch: Two days after arresting a Maulvi in Amod for a social media post regarding cow slaughter, the Bharuch District Special Operations Group (SOG) made another arrest in the case on Tuesday.

Shabbir Ali Patel, vice-president of Darul Uloom Barkat-e-Khwaja in Amod, was taken into custody on Tuesday. On Sunday, Maulvi Abdul Rahim Rathod had been booked for ‘promoting enmity’ for posting about the Islamic “ritualistic procedure” for animal sacrifice, including cows among other animals like camels and buffaloes. Darul Uloom, an Arabic term, translates to “house of knowledge.”

The contentious post appeared ahead of Bakrid, celebrated nationwide on Monday.

During their investigation, the Bharuch SOG determined that Patel had drafted the message and handed it to Rathod. “Maulvi Rathod engaged in an act that could offend Hindu religious sentiments and disrupt religious harmony between the Hindu and Muslim communities. The investigation revealed that Shabbir Ali wrote the message titled ‘Process of Qurbani’ and gave it to Rathod to distribute on social media. Consequently, Patel was booked and arrested late Monday night,” the SOG stated in a release.

The accused face charges under IPC sections 153(A), 295(A), and 504, as well as the IT Act. DeshGujarat